Valentine Chocolate Recipes

How To Make Chocolates Using Old-Fashioned Valentine Chocolate Recipes

Articles Needed For Valentine Chocolate Recipes

Have every article needed convenient before boiling the sugar, as one must work very rapidly after the candy is cool enough to manipulate.

A new tin, iron, granite, or porcelain boiler, free from grease. The boiler should never be used for other purposes. If possible, a confectioners' thermometer, a cloth tied around a fork, best granulated sugar, confectioners' sugar, two silver forks, a silver spoon, a sharp knife, one bar of Baker’s® bitter chocolate, a bar of sweet chocolate, a box of cocoa, glycerin, cream of tartar, various flavoring extracts, vanilla bean, colored pastes, dried fig, chopped walnuts, nuts, blanched almonds, halves of English walnuts, cocoa butter (not that used for toilet purposes), seeded raisins and dates, shredded or fresh coconut, grated, parched peanuts, butter, maple sugar, sliced pineapple, well dried, and a large flat meat dish filled with cold water (a marble slab is preferable), and a ladle or batter cake turner.

How To Make Plain Cream, or Fondant

Four cups of best granulated sugar (white) to which add 2 cups of boiling water and one-fourth teaspoonful of pure cream of tartar. Stir until dissolved, but do not stir while boiling. Boil until three drops fall slowly, a thread slowly forming from the third drop. Also watch the bubbles break slowly as it boils. If it threads directly from the spoon with the first drop, it will revert to sugar. If a thermometer is used, it must reach 40º [Baumé; i.e., 70% sugar content]. A little experience without a thermometer will give success.

Skim the sugar while boiling, also the sides of the kettle with a wet cloth on a fork as the scum arises. Do not boil too briskly, but moderately. When it threads pour into the flat dish, from which the water has been perfectly drained just before removing the candy from the fire, and add one teaspoonful of glycerin to each cup of sugar, and one teaspoonful of vanilla, or any flavoring desired: If two flavors are desired, divide the candy. Do not scrape the bottom and sides of the boiler, when pouring it out. When the finger can be held in the candy with comfort, knead back and forth with a batter cake turner until it "bucks." This work must be done rapidly and evenly, having the dish level. When impossible to move the mass, use forks to mash it; then knead with hands until smooth.

This is called stock fondant, and it will keep a month in a cool place, and can be worked into fancy candies, but I prefer to mold while slightly warm. Do not handle too much. Some of this white stock may be molded into squares, rounds, diamonds, wrapped around a whole almond, or other nuts, rolled in grated coconut, dipped into chocolate coating, or made in layers one-fourth inch thick and four inches long, with a layer of dried figs between, and when cold cut into diamonds, etc., or a layer of pineapple may be used.

Fondant Variations

You can make a wide variety of chocolates and bonbons from this old valentine chocolate recipe simply by adding food coloring to the fondant.

• Add a touch of pink paste to white cream, also violet, yellow, green, and chocolate to white cream.


• Make two layers of white with either color between, as fancy dictates, and cut into shapes or make into balls.


• Trim the sides of the layer before cutting, and the ragged edges can be put together, forming striped blocks of several colors, whereas the layer only showed white and pink, or some other color.


• Melt chocolate for brown, make into shapes, and place halves of walnuts on top of all colors and whites.


• Make pink balls and squares, let them get firm, and dip into melted white fondant, which gives a pretty effect.


• Chop raisins, add spices, and mix in white fondant; place between layers of white or colored fondant or cream.


• Remove seed from dates and raisins and fill with white and colored cream, roll in granulated sugar. Strips of coconuts may be placed on top or worked into cream also.


• Rose water, pineapple, banana, and orange are nice flavorings, and wintergreen is liked by some.

Maple Cream

Same as plain cream, except use 1 teaspoonful of cream of tartar to 1 pound of maple sugar.

Nut Cream

Two cups of white and 1 cup of maple sugar to 1 cup of boiling water. Proceed as for plain cream only add mixed chopped nuts just before it "bucks." Shape into squares or make a layer between white or colored cream and cut into squares.

Chocolate Coating

A cake of Baker's® bitter chocolate, 2 ounces of cocoa butter, melted together -- sunshine heat, never over hot water -- to which add confectioners' sugar until thick enough. Pound vanilla bean in the sugar before sifting it, and warm the sugar before mixing with chocolate. This mixture can be slowly melted on the back of the stove. Stir it constantly.

By means of a hat pin, dip the shapes of white and colored creams into this mixture and drop on paper. Hold on pin until it almost ceases to drop. Bars of cream dipped into this coating with a nut on top are nice. Nuts may be inside of the shape also, or it may be rolled in coconut while the coating is soft.

Another Chocolate Coating

Equal parts of sweet and bitter chocolate, melted. This is delicious and less trouble.

Chocolate-Coated Almonds

Brown blanched almonds and dip into coating.

Finer Grade of Chocolate Creams

Instead of the old-style cornstarch molds, specialized chocolate molds are available for sale online at most candy-making stores. They come in hundreds of shapes and sizes and are perfect for use with these old-time valentine chocolate recipes.

Use a tin funnel 7 inches long, 4-1/2 inches across the top, and 1/4 inch at bottom, with a stick, similar to a pencil, through the center to close the outlet, and to be raised and lowered to emit a small quantity of melted of fondant into small cornstarch molds. The funnel looks like the letter V and has a handle on the side. Make impressions with cone-shaped objects, or they may be round or bars, in cornstarch or sugar, and pour in the melted fondant, and when firm dip in chocolate coating.